Gitte Lund, Torrevieja City Council’s Councillor for International Residents, has announced that the usual procession to commemorate Norway’s National Day will commence at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 17th, at the Monument to the Hombre del Mar.

Hundreds of Norwegian residents from Torrevieja and other Norwegian colonies in the Vega Baja region will walk along the Juan Aparicio Promenade to Playa del Cura, where institutional speeches and a performance by the Norwegian School Choir will take place at 12:00 noon in the promenade’s natural pools.

Every year on May 17th, Norway celebrates National Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the Constitution’s promulgation in 1814. Although full independence was not attained until 1905, this date remains Norway’s National Day and is always observed as a national holiday.

Samuel, the 17-year-old (at the time of the incident) accused of killing 15-year-old Cloe on the Orihuela Costa last November, testified in Alicante’s juvenile court yesterday, Thursday May 15th.

A three-hour statement for a murder classed as gender-based violence because the victim and alleged murderer were a couple.

According to Juan Carlos Fuentes, the family’s private prosecution counsel, the boy admitted to killing the girl with a knife but refused to answer any questions other than those posed by the Prosecutor’s Office and his own defence.

The teenager’s brother discovered her with a cut on her neck at home shortly before nine o’clock that Sunday night and transported her to the Torrevieja hospital, where she died shortly afterward.

The suspected killer was apprehended two hours later. Apparently, she had broken up with him a few days before. There were no reported cases of abuse.

In addition, another minor has been arrested for alleged active participation in the crime. This boy, Dilan, is expected to testify later today and will use the same logic.

Given their proximity to age, both face the maximum term under juvenile law: eight years in detention, beginning in a juvenile centre and ending in a normal prison.

Accommodations in Benidorm (Alicante) are expected to be nearly full, or “technically full,” this weekend due to the popularity of the Benidorm Fest, which has elevated the city to the status of a top-tier tourist destination for Europeans.

As a result, an increasing number of Eurovision fans are flocking to Benidorm to soak up the Eurovision vibe and watch the final on the large screens placed up throughout the town, as well as attend the many Euroclub events.

Israel Martínez, Director General of Tourism of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), revealed that there are “confirmed reservations for the weekend that exceed 85%,” but estimates that they will reach “100% in the city of Benidorm.”

Martínez, who travelled to Basel (Switzerland) with a delegation from the Benidorm Fest, highlighted the “deseasonalising effect” of both the music festival held in Benidorm between January and February, in the middle of the low season, and the Eurovision Song Contest itself, which many tourists choose to enjoy from Benidorm, transforming the Euroclub festivities into “a tourist phenomenon” and increasing hotel occupancy rates.

He also emphasised the “young” nature of the tourists who would visit Benidorm this weekend because of the Eurovision vibe it created in the city. In many cases, they are “new” tourists who were neither known nor devoted to the city but who, thanks to efforts like the Benidorm Fest or Eurovision broadcasts, discover the location and “get hooked,” he said. In reality, he emphasised that the Benidorm Festival and Eurovision are, in terms of visitor occupancy, “two phenomena that feed off each other and are closely linked” to the city.

The Benidorm Fest delegation has organised a gala for this afternoon at 8 p.m. in Basel to promote the Benidorm festival and attract a European audience for the next edition.

According to Benidorm’s Head of Major Events, Jesús Carrobles, the 300 available seats for the gala have been totally sold out. While many Eurofans in Basel have shown interest in attending, the venue is currently “full.”

This event, in addition to advertising the upcoming edition of the Benidorm Fest and tourism sites in the Valencian Community, will feature performances by previous editions’ performers, including Mawot, Kuve, and Kingdom.